Thousands of prison cell windows across England and Wales are going to fitted with bars designed to stop drones smuggling contraband into prisons.
In a report from last year, the Justice Committee said the use of illicit drugs and their trade across prisons has reached “endemic” levels, which is fostering a “dangerous culture of acceptance that must be broken”.
Official data showed that in the 12 months to March 2025, the number of drone incidents in prisons rose to 1,712 from 1,196 – an increase of 43% in just a year. Over a longer timeframe, the body recorded a 770% increase in drone sightings around prisons between 2019 and 2023, rising from 122 incidents to over 1,050.
The report found that drones could carry payloads of up to 1.3kg of contraband into prisons, often under cover of night. At Long Lartin, drones regularly delivered contraband to gangs in black plastic bags, while in Manchester the prison had failed to replace damaged netting over the exercise yards, making it easier for...